Okami
by INMH
Summary: Strays from the story before the timeskip. Sasuke abandons Sound after an incident with Orochimaru, and ends up in a land called Nippon. There, he meets a small sprite and white wolf… Crossover with the videogame OKAMI.
1. Prologue

Okami

**_Rating:_** PG-13/T

**_Genre:_** Action/Adventure/Fantasy

**_Summary:_** Strays from the story before the timeskip. Sasuke abandons Sound after an incident with Orochimaru, and ends up in a land called Nippon. There, he meets a small sprite and white wolf… Crossover with OKAMI.

**_Author's Note:_** I. Love. This. Game. I. Also. Love. This. Anime/Manga. Why. Am. I. Typing. Like. This. Oh. Well.

Disclaimer: I do not Okami or Naruto (primarily, Sasuke). They belong, respectively, to Clover studios and Masashi Kishimoto.

--

You know you're alone when you've got both the good guys _and_ the bad guys on your ass.

You make the good guys mad because you side with the bad guys.

You make the bad guys mad by abandoning them.

Then, of course, the good guys are still mad at you for siding with the bad guys, so they want you dead. And you've got the bad guys that still hate you.

It's not fun.  
Sasuke could attest to that.

The damage that he'd done in Konoha was damn near irreversible; he'd beat up and nearly killed Naruto, and sided with the power-hungry nut-case that had killed the Third Hokage, all so that he would be able to kill his older brother and thereby exact his revenge on him.

Yes. It sounds loony. But it's true.

Things at Sound had not gone well, to say the least.

Everyone there hated him for being from Konoha. Kabuto wasn't cruel, but he did tease him. Kabuto disliked Sasuke for being Orochimaru's new pet. And Orochimaru liked him because he thought Sasuke would be an easy pass. Not to mention that he wanted Sasuke's body… In more ways than one.

His reasoning was this- "Sasuke needs me. He won't leave. He needs my power."

Heh. Wrong.

Sasuke did not need anyone _that_ much. He'd acquire power on his own if he had to- but he would NOT put up with that. He ran away (again), nearly got killed (again), and now he was alone (again). Everyone hated him.

He didn't know where he was going.

He didn't know when he was getting there.

All he knew was that he was never going back to Sound.

Ever.

-End Prologue

--

I swear this will get better. This was just to explain the situation and give you a setting and character.


	2. The Evil Monkeys

Sasuke was beat.

He had little to no idea how long it had been since he'd left Konoha. Or Sound, for that matter. The days and nights of endless walking and running had completely wiped him out. He had a feeling that he wasn't in ninja territory- he'd gone pretty far without really thinking about it. He did know he'd been heading northwest, because he'd last passed through Waterfall and Grass ninja land.

This land was like none he'd ever seen before. The trees were withered and dying, the grass was yellowed, and an ugly mist hung in the air. Sasuke had learned the hard way to stay away from the mist- after getting a little too close to it, he'd gotten the wind knocked out of him (Not that he had much left to begin with…) and was overcome with an awful feeling.

Which brings us to the current moment.

Sasuke was flopped onto a mist-free patch of grass, breathing shallowly. He was in a state of not-quite-sleep and not-quite-consciousness; he was tired, but still too alert to put his guard down. Maybe it was for the best, seeing as how his dreams were plagued by nightmares. They had been ever since he'd left Konoha. He was also hungry. He was trying to save what food (and money to buy it) he had for emergencies.

Sighing, he turned and rolled onto his side. He briefly considered knocking himself in the head with a rock, putting himself out of his misery quickly, then decided against it after a moment of more reasonable thought. Turning from his side, he stared at the sky again. It was dimly red-streaked- dawn was coming.

Sasuke rubbed his eyes, took a deep breath, and sat up again. With sleepy eyes, he looked around and observed his surroundings for the first time (believe it or not, he'd had veritable tunnel-vision from fatigue, and saw very little).

"What the hell?" He mumbled. The dawn had come- but the sky was mildly overcast. Gripping a nearby rock and hauling himself up, Sasuke rubbed the back of his head and looked around further. He did a double-take when he saw a sign at an entrance of the field. Grabbing his bag, he ambled over to it, shaking his sleepy limbs back to life as he moved.

The sign read "Shinshu Field". "'Shinshu?' Where's that?" Sasuke mumbled. He strained his memory, but could not recall ever hearing of a place called "Shinshu". He looked around the field again. He saw, what appeared to be, an observatory on a cliff… A large, dead tree… A wrecked cabin… And-

"_What_?" Sasuke whispered, his eyes squinting. He saw several large green and black scrolls floating barely an inch from the ground. They were a good distance apart, but it didn't make them any less intimidating. Bitten with curiosity, Sasuke jogged over to a scroll (but keeping a safe distance) and examined it. There were small, green flames on it, and black smoke hovered about it as well.

Slowly, Sasuke inched a bit closer, and tentatively reached out a hand. The scroll twitched as his fingers made contact.

_"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAGH!"_

Sasuke jumped back and jerked his head around wildly as a shrieking howl echoed in the valley. The scroll exploded in a burst of flame, and without warning, four creatures appear in whirls of poisonous, purple smoke. They were green, and had paper masks with red symbols on them. Upon closer inspection, they were very close in appearance with monkeys or baboons. They held long bamboo poles and darts.

"What the hell-?" Sasuke hissed, pulling out his sword (he'd taken it with him after leaving Sound- he had little to no experience with it, so its usefulness to him had yet to be determined). Poising it in front of him, he glanced around to make sure all of them were in his line of vision.

One leaped at him. He swung the sword- managed to knock it away with a moderate wound. It paced with its companions, all of whom were obviously incensed. Sasuke, meanwhile, had a minor problem. He was, if you recall from the beginning of the chapter, _beat_. No sleep, little food, little water, no shelter. And after swinging that sword, he understood why it only left a moderate wound rather than killing the creature: he was so tired, the sword felt like it weighed a ton.

The young ninja stumbled back and flinched. This was bad. He hadn't been so tired since the Chuunin exams. He had no idea what these things were capable of, or who (or _what_) they worked for (they had a flunky sort of air about them). And now it was painfully obvious as to how weak he was. They could take him out with little problem.

Using the sword to prop himself up, Sasuke panted and watched the green creatures with dread. They slowly began to circle him, like predators sizing up a piece of meat. _Oh boy, I'm screwed. I finally get as far away as possible from Orochimaru, and now I'm going to get killed by a bunch of green monkeys…_

Without warning, they all leapt in one, synchronized motion. Sasuke hissed and shut his eyes, knowing that unless something miraculous happened, it would probably be the last thing he did…

…But then, the miraculous occurred.

Four loud clanging noises sounded from over his head, and Sasuke dropped to his knees from a combination of fatigue, and fear of being hit. Had the creatures crashed into each other? They certainly seemed dim enough to do such a thing. Well, whatever happened, Sasuke was untouched.

He remained crouched on the ground, listening to the sounds of battle behind him, shrieks from the monsters echoing through the field. Someone shouted, "Ahahaaa! Take that, ya dumb imps! Take 'em, Ammy! Show them the power of the brush! Hoo-rah!" Ammy? Brush? Imps? Oh, this was going to be fun to comprehend later…

Finally, the noises stopped. Sasuke hesitated. Just as he was about to rise, a long, victorious howl rebounded through the air. It sounded just like… A wolf? _Impossible, _He thought. _How could a wolf fight those things?_

But the impossible became possible when he felt a cold nose on the back of his neck, and heard a voice say, "Hey, kid, you all right?"


	3. Amaterasu and Issun

Sasuke glanced up.

A large, white wolf with strange, red markings in its fur stared at him, wagging its tail in a friendly manner. It saw him look, cocked its head to the side, and barked. Sasuke jumped a little. "Careful, Ammy, he looks like a wreck anyway. You all right, kid? What's your name?" Sasuke's head whipped back and forth, looking for the source of the voice.

"Huh? Wha- Where are you?" He asked, eyes narrowing.

"Up here! Not _there_, you moron- On the wolf's head!" Sasuke slowly turned back to the wolf, and concentrated on its head. There- a small, bouncing, green ball of light was perched between the wolf's ears. "So you gonna answer me or what?" Sasuke was frozen for a moment, and then nodded vaguely.

"Uh… Yeah… I'm fine." He mumbled. "What are you? A fairy? And why does the wolf have those red things on it?" The green ball of light suddenly turned red, and started hopping a lot faster.

"I'm not a fairy, dammit! I am Issun, the Magnificent Traveling Artist/Warrior! And you better-" Issun suddenly stopped in his tracks, and returned to his normal, green color. "Wait a minute, wait a minute. You can see the marks on Ammy's fur? Are you a human?" Sasuke blinked and slowly stood up again.

"Yeah… I'm human. Is it unusual that I can see the marks?"

"Would I have asked you that if it wasn't?" Issun bounced off of "Ammy's" head and onto the ground, bouncing higher to reach Sasuke's eye-level. "Hey, what's up with your eyes? You blow a blood vessel or something?" Sasuke took a moment to process this, and then shook his head.

"No… They're Sharingan eyes."  
"Shari-whatta?"

"It's a bloodline trait. Everyone in my family has... It runs in my family." Sasuke lowered his voice. Issun continued to bounce in his face.

"What's a bloodline trait?" He asked.

"It's… A hereditary power or trait that's passed down in a family. It mostly happens in ninja clans." Issun stopped bouncing, and landed back onto Ammy's head.

"Are you a ninja?" The artist asked. Sasuke nodded. "Then why the hell did we have to save your butt just now?!" Sasuke twitched.

"For something so small, you have a really, really big mouth." He grunted. "Ammy", meanwhile, was twitching her (Sasuke presumed it was female) head back and forth as though watching a tennis match. "Look- I've been traveling for… Hell, I don't know how long. I haven't eaten much, I haven't _slept_, and I have no idea where I am."

"How'd you get here?" Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"I hitched a ride on my magical ostrich," He snapped. "I _walked_."

"Well, where are you from?"

"Konohagakure." Issun blinked.

"Konoha? I've heard of that… Pretty prominent ninja village in the east. But _damn_, kid, do you know how far away you are from there?"

"No."

"Nippon, kid! You're in Nippon! You're- what- ten, eleven?"

"_Twelve_. And "Nippon" means next to nothing to me, because I've never heard of it." Issun snorted.

"You wouldn't have. Ninja are typically glued to their villages. How'd _you_ get permission to get out?"

"None of your damn business." Issun crossed his arms.

"Stubborn, eh? Well, listen here, you thick-skulled _brat_-"

Without warning, the wolf tilted her head back and caught Issun in her mouth. Sasuke snorted and chuckled. There was a pause, and then she spit him out. He tumbled to the ground, covered in slobber. "WOULD YOU KNOCK THAT OFF?" Issun roared irritably, turning red again.

The wolf sunk down and laid on the ground, stretching out and resting her head on her paws. She stared at Issun sweetly and innocently, as though goading him. There was a pause, and then, Issun calmed down again. "Eh… Whatever… I get it…" He turned back to Sasuke. "What's your name, brat?" Sasuke stared at him for a moment.

"Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke." Issun nodded.

"That there's the goddess Amaterasu. I guess the… Sharingan-thingy… lets you see her true form, but most people can't." Sasuke cocked an eyebrow at this and crossed his arms.

"A goddess."

"Did I stutter?" Issun snapped.  

"Somehow, I don't buy that." He said flatly. Issun gave him a withering look. He jerked his head at Amaterasu.

"Show him, Ammy. Or better yet, kid, can you shut off that eye-thing?" Sasuke hesitated… And then shut the Sharingan down. It was burning chakra anyway. His eyes returned to the dark brown, nearly black, that he'd been born with. He opened them to slits and stared at Issun and Amaterasu.

Issun saw the boy's stare and shuddered a little (thankfully, his size in comparison to Amaterasu and Sasuke hid it well). _This kid's got a real pair of peepers on him. They're almost as creepy as the red ones!_

Sasuke, meanwhile, was shocked- the red lines on Amaterasu's back and head had disappeared (Though, now that he observed her more closely, he saw that the tip of her tail looked as though it'd been dipped into an inkwell). She now looked like a perfectly normal, white wolf. "What the…?"

"See now? Very few humans ever see the red marks. It's usually reserved to people who've had a long history of contact with the gods, or have an excess of holy power. Kind of our equivalent of your creepy eye-thing."

"Sharingan."  
"Whatever."

There was a pause. Sasuke leaned down and picked up his bag, calmly slinging it over his shoulder. "Well… I'll be going now." He turned to go, and was suddenly tugged back. Amaterasu had gripped the back of his shirt in her teeth and stopped him from leaving. He stared at her questioningly.

"What, Ammy? What do you want?" Issun asked. Amaterasu turned and looked at him, locking eyes with the sprite. He paused, trying to understand. "You… want the kid to come with us? Aw, c'mon! How much use could he be half-dead?" Sasuke thought about firing back, and then decided not to waste the energy.

Amaterasu made a noise, and shook her head a little. Sasuke could make neither head nor tails of the gesture, but apparently, Issun could. "What? Oh please." Another few gestures and frustrated grunts from Issun later, Amaterasu won. Issun turned to Sasuke again. "Well, kid, you heard it- Ammy wants you to stick with us. You're alone here, you got nowhere to go-"  
"How do you know I have nowhere to go?" Sasuke grumbled. Issun crossed his tiny arms and tapped his foot.  
"_Do_ you?" Sasuke glanced aside.

"No."

"Didn't think so. You sticking with us, or what?"

"Well, what are you doing?"

"Ugh… It's a long story… I'll explain on the way- we're exploring the field. But then again… Not much to explore. Just one big curse-zone, really…"

"Curse-zone?" Issun sighed.

"I can already sense the fun starting…"


	4. Hana Valley

After a brief conversation with the only person on Shinshu field seemingly unaffected by the curse-zone (A man who, apparently, had no name), they headed through a large tunnel to a place called Hana Valley, Issun explaining about his and Amaterasu's mission along the way.

"So, let me get this straight- you two were assigned by a 'hot babe with grade-A melons'…" (Here, he cocked an eyebrow at Issun) "… As you so _eloquently_ put it… To revive the land of its former vibrancy and punish the evil creatures who dare to wreck it. And that entails…?"

"Gaining all 13 brush powers and using them to fix everything." Issun said. Sasuke nodded slowly.

"And _you_ joined up because…?"

"Mind your own business, brat!" Issun growled. "I decided to come for my own damn reasons!" Suddenly, he smirked (Mind you, since he was so small, Sasuke could not see it). "Why don't we get to _your_ reasoning, eh? It's not normal for ninja to be so far from their villages, especially one as young as you. How'd you get permission to go so far from home? You're not a _Missing_ ninja, are you?"

"_You shut up_." Sasuke snarled in a low, deadly voice. If there was one story he didn't want to get into, it was the one involving his defection from Konoha. "Mind your own business."

"I will if you mind yours," Issun grumbled frostily. Amaterasu made an exasperated grunting sound, sensing that this would be a horribly long journey if Issun and Sasuke kept at each other's throats. Not a moment too soon, they exited the cave and entered the place called Hana Valley. "Whoa! Now that's ugly!"

Sasuke looked about. Like in Shinshu Field, Hana Valley was essentially lifeless. The water that ran here was black, and upon studying the path, Sasuke realized that it led out to Shinshu field. "Is this place a curse-zone?" He asked.

"No; just affected by one. If this were a curse-zone, we'd be in some serious pain by now." He bounced up and gestured to the area surrounding them. "I guess you could think of curse-zones like a disease- they spread quickly and quietly, and pretty much destroy everything in their path."

"So how do we get rid of the curse-zone?"

"Well, Sakuya said that restoring the Guardian Saplings would help… But first we have to figure out how to do that…" Sasuke nodded again, cocking an eyebrow as they wandered up the path.

"So, basically, we're just going in here on a whim?"

"We're up for suggestions if ya have any better ideas, Shinobi-brat." Issun grunted. "Better place to start as any. Most other paths out of the fields are blocked by the curse-zones. So you can take your smartass attitude and shove it where-" They stopped short. The path led to the mouth of a cave.

And blocking that cave was a group of those imps again. "Uh-oh." Issun mumbled. Sasuke slowly drew his sword and held it up defensively as Amaterasu crouched down and raised her hackles. The imps turned upon hearing her growl and immediately raised their bamboo poles, letting out those hideous shrieks again.

Really, when you think about it, Sasuke was no better off than he was before, energy wise. He was still fatigued beyond belief, but pushed it aside, as he had done so many times before, for the sake of this new mission (No matter how wildly absurd it seemed to him.) On the upside, he was on his guard now, and this time, he'd seen those bastards before they had seen him.

One jumped at him- Sasuke swung, nicked the imp's mask, and did two 360 degree spins before stopping. _Maybe I should stick with kunai until I've gotten some sleep,_ He thought, eyes spinning mildly. He was partly glad that this was a fairly intense battle, so Issun was too busy to mock him for the fault.

Yes, it seemed that kunai and shuriken were the way to go- the imps disappeared when defeated (having just noticed this), and they didn't appear to have blood, so hey, no cleaning or having to wrench kunai from a fatally damaged liver… Soon, with Issun, Amaterasu and Sasuke's combined efforts, the imps were defeated, disappeared in puffs of purple smoke.

"Sheesh, kid, how long'd you say it's been since you last slept?"

"A few days at least," Sasuke mumbled, panting and leaning against the walls. "I mean, I've… Well… Rested, but it wasn't really sleep." Issun shook his head.

"Well why not? You weren't exactly hot-footing it to someplace- sounds like you had all the time in the world to sleep." 

_Yeah, _Sasuke thought, _But I was worried that a Sound-nin would sneak up behind me and slit my throat. The image tends to keep you up. _There was a sound to his left, and Sasuke turned. The diseased water suddenly turned blue, and started to spread out- but then, the black mist from the curse-zone appeared and turned it brown again.

"Huh?" Issun said. "We got rid of the monsters, so why'd it go brown again?"

"Maybe the curse-zone's too strong," Sasuke suggested.

"Probably. Still, you think the gods would be able to do more about it…" Sasuke cocked an eyebrow at this; he'd never heard someone make a comment like that before, like there was proof the gods existed and were doing a conscious effort to intervene with evil. If they were making an effort, then it _sucked_.

They continued on through the passage, which led out to an open area lined by trees. Many of them were dead, blackened ones with white paper rings around them. But others… "Hey, check out that tree- it's moving!" And indeed, a dead tree with- white appeared to be- curls of multi-colored fire on its branches, was swaying back and forth as though alive. Without warning, a glowing ball appeared on one of the branches, and the tree began to spin around. Suddenly, the ball went flying from the branch, straight at the trio!

"Watch out!" Sasuke barked, diving to the side. Amaterasu leapt out of the way as well, Issun clinging to her fur for dear life. The tree swayed menacingly again, brought up another ball, and psyched up for round two. The glowing ball was hurled, aimed at Amaterasu-

**_CLANG!_**

With a noise that sounded distinctly like metal-on-metal, the ball went flying back at the tree, slamming into it with record force. It swayed minimally now, apparently dazed from the impact. "Let's go! While it's out!" Issun yelled. They charged past it, only to nearly get clothes-lined with the branch of another possessed tree. Ducking under it, the trio charged across a rickety wooden bridge to another, narrower path.

"Does Nippon typically house psychotic tress?!" Sasuke yelped as they dodged up this path as well (More possessed trees).

"Oh _yeah_, just full of 'em." Issun snarled sarcastically. A tree reared up and chucked the ball at Amaterasu, who quickly ducked. Fortunately, she was not hit. _Un_fortunately, she did not duck low enough, and the ball whizzed over her fuzzy head and caught Issun instead.

_WHAM_**. **

Issun was slammed between the rock wall and the ball, causing both Sasuke and Amaterasu to flinch. The ball fell, revealing Issun, still pressed to the wall. Very, very slowly, he slid down and floated to the ground.

"Why me?" He moaned.


	5. Susano and the Bear

After peeling Issun off the ground and placing him carefully back onto Amaterasu's head, they continued on into another cave. To their right was a large, flat wall with a drawing on it. But right near there…

"Oh man, not him again." Issun muttered. "What's Susano doing here?"

"Who?" Sasuke asked. He saw a man pressing against a boulder at the end of the path. He was tall and broad with black hair, and… a wooden sword strapped to his back. _Sheesh,_ Sasuke thought. _Even I can use a real sword, and I'm easily ten years younger than this guy._

"He's the 'greatest warrior of all time'!" Issun said sarcastically. "This lug could barely cut a training dummy without our help."

"Big surprise. His sword is wooden." Sasuke mumbled. "How could you cut anything with that?" They approached Susano quietly; he was still pushing at the rock. He stopped, however, upon sensing someone behind him. Turning, he saw the three, and crossed his large arms.

"Oh, it's you, mutt! What're you doing here?" He glanced at Sasuke. "And who's this? Your master?" Sasuke arched his brow.

"… No." He said flatly.

"At any rate," Susano continued. "Go home! I told you, I'm not looking for apprentices. And Hana Valley is no longer a place for a mutt and a child like you lot."

"_Child?_ Take a swing at me with that _sword_ of yours, and we'll see who's the-" Amaterasu let out a soft bark, and Sasuke stopped in mid-rant, a moody look crossing his face before falling silent.

"Beyond this point lies my secret training ground," Susano said, nodding to the rock blocking the tunnel entrance. "It's the perfect place to hide-" He stopped, suddenly realizing what he was saying. Amaterasu let out a noise that sounded oddly like "Huh?" and leaned forward. Sasuke simply snorted. "Er… I mean, to train!" Susano covered lamely.

"Sure." Issun mumbled. "Of course that's what you meant. Coward." Susano cleared his throat loudly, and pretended he hadn't heard him.

"Now scoot! Be off with ya!" Susano even went so far as to slash his sword at them, making Amaterasu and Sasuke jump backwards. Once he deemed that they were an acceptable distance away, Susano went right back to pushing the boulder.

"Wow," Sasuke muttered dryly, brushing some dust off his sleeve. "I am in total awe of his talents."

"That blowhard," Issun grumbled. "I _hate_ cocky people who think they're the Gods' gift to the world."

"This coming from the guy who introduced himself to me as 'The Magnificent Warrior/Traveling artist Issun'." Sasuke muttered.

"Shut up." Amaterasu paid little attention to their banter. Her attention was on the giant drawing on the wall. She cocked her head to the side, examining it closely. To the left of the picture was a large tree in bloom- a tree that closely resembled a guardian sapling. A few feet to the right of the tree was an orb on a pedestal. To the right of the pedestal were three people, carrying what appeared to be offerings. And above the people, shining down onto the orb, was…

An empty space. The picture was missing a sun.

On a hunch, she carefully picked up her tail, drew a circle in the spot, and-

_BOOM._

"Whoa!" Issun yelped, clinging to Amaterasu's fur while Sasuke struggled to keep his footing. "What was that?!" On the picture, A spiral appeared, with eleven little dashes on the sides- a sun. And behind them, the boulder blocking the tunnel entrance twitched. Then, the same sun drawing appeared on it, before it crumbled away into dust.

"What in heaven's name?!" Susano yelped, jumping back as the boulder crumbled. The tunnel was now revealed, along with another brown and murky river. "How did that happen?" He crossed his arms. "Well, anyway, now I can go hide- er… I mean… train…" He dashed inside.

The three glanced briefly after him, and then turned back to the picture. "It's a wall painting of an ancient ritual," Issun said. "It ain't half bad, and that's a lot coming from the great Issun!" Sasuke smirked.

"You did it again."

"I thought I told you to shut up!"

-

They pursued Susano into the tunnel. It wasn't very long, and emptied into a large room. "What a strange place," Issun said. "Is this really the secret training ground Susano mentioned?"

"Where'd he go, anyway?" Sasuke mumbled, glancing around. Susano was nowhere in sight. But in the middle of the room was a small, green, twitching plant. They approached it, and Issun hopped off of Amaterasu for a moment.

"What's up with this?" He paused, then sniffed. "Hey! I smell a faint scent like Sakuya's coming from this!" Sasuke glanced up. Above and behind the sapling was a platform. Upon closer examination, there was a small pool of water on it. And farther back on the platform, there was another drawing of a sun. This part of the platform had a view of a murky waterfall, and a fair shot of the cloudy sky outside.

"What do you think this means?" Sasuke asked, nodding to the sun drawing. Issun examined it for a moment.

"Hmm… Ammy, why don't you try drawing a sun in the sky again?" Amaterasu nodded and twisted her tail skywards. She drew a circle and, to Sasuke's shock, the sun appeared from behind the clouds! _Maybe she **is** a goddess… I can't imagine who else would be able to call out the sun…_

But nothing further happened. "Hm… I'll bet something will happen if we get this right." He turned to face the small pool of water. "It looks like there should be something in there. Let's poke around and find it!"  Upon another inspection, they found another tunnel- consequently, where Susano must have gone.

Again, the tunnel was not long, so they quickly found another room at the end, revealing…

"Raaawr!"

"What the-? What now?!" Issun yelped. Susano was posed, wooden sword in hand.

"You… You foul beast! How did you get in here?!" He snarled.

"Foul beast?" Issun muttered. There was a pause. The 'foul beast' that Susano was so furiously staring at was a bear. Standing on top of a large, green-blue orb. Sleeping. It had no idea that Susano was even talking to it.

"You have some nerve to sneak into my private training ground. Now you shall get a taste of my new secret technique!"

"Oh boy." Sasuke muttered wryly. "Here we go."

"Your 'foul beast' looks like an ordinary, sleeping bear, pops." But Susano wouldn't hear it.

"Enough talk! My blade thirsts for battle!" Susano cried.

"What blade? You look like you stole that from a carpenter!" Sasuke snapped. Susano still ignored them.

"Here goes nothing!" ("Literally," Issun quipped.) "Susano-style- SUSANO!"

"Brush at the ready, furball!" Issun hissed.

"SU!" Susano slashed at one of the four torches lighting the room. There was a metallic clanging noise, and it fell to the ground, sliced in half. Sasuke glanced at Amaterasu. Her tail was poised to slash- So Susano wasn't actually doing anything… "SA!" The next torch fell. "NO!" A third fell. "SUSANO!" The last one fell.

Susano reared back, facing the bear. "Now for Susano style… EXPLODING IMPLOSION!" He slashed at the bear. Finally, it was shocked awake. The sleepy bear looked around, surprised. Then, his eyes drooped, and he fell off the orb with a thunderous crash. He was asleep again. Susano laughed.

"That'll teach you, you foolish beast! You're no match for my new secret technique!" No response other than a snore from the bear. Sasuke stared.

"… He just beat up a sleeping bear."

"Yes. Yes he did." Issun said.

"And now he's celebrating."

"Yes." A pause.

"This is so pathetic… I can't even bring myself to mock it."  Susano seemed to hear them this time. He coughed nervously, and straightened up.

"Uh… Er… Rest in peace, foul beast. The great warrior Susano condemns the offense, not the offender. Anyway, there are other monsters I must deal with!" He laughed and ran from the room. There was a long, long silence. Then, Amaterasu barked and walked over to the orb that the bear had been standing on. Sasuke and Issun leaned in closer to examine it.

"Wow…" Issun whispered. After looking closer, they realized that the orb had leaves inside of it that were spinning around by way of a mysterious wind. "Hey, doesn't this look like the orb from the drawing?" Sasuke nodded.

"Maybe this is what's supposed to be in that pool," He suggested. Issun nodded.

"Probably. Let's roll it out there and find out!"


	6. Sakigami of the Greensprout

After much shouting and yelping, they managed to get the orb down the tunnel and up the ramp to the platform. "Come on, you can't tell me you can't roll that thing straight!" Issun called to Sasuke. Sasuke gave him an ugly look.

"Heckle me one more time, Issun, _one more time_, and I'll feed you to the bear!" He growled, giving the orb another hard shove. It rolled down the platform into the pool and came to rest there. There was a pause. Then, suddenly, the water began to bubble, and the orb rose into the air, held by a spout of water. "So it _was_ the orb from the painting," Sasuke said. 

"Someone had a lot of time on their hands to cook this up," Issun mumbled. "Hey, Ammy, try the sun thing again. Maybe it'll work this time." Amaterasu turned back to the sky. Slowly, she drew a circle in the clouds. The sun appeared again, striking the orb, which led the beams to the sapling below. The ground rumbled softly, and slowly, the sapling started to grow, becoming a large, adult tree within a minute.

"A Guardian Sapling!" Issun said. "But it's all withered like the others." Suddenly, the room grew very dim. "Hey! What the- Who turned out the lights?!" Then, a faint glow appeared. They looked up to see the clouds above clearing. Three bright stars appeared, giving off the faint glow. "Another constellation!"

"A constellation?" Sasuke said.

"This is how Ammy regains her brush powers- she finishes the constellation! Finish this one and see what it is, Ammy!" Amaterasu examined the stars for a moment, then lifted her tail to finish it. Two small pokes with her tail, and-

_BOOM._

The ground shook, and suddenly the air was filled with mist. The sapling and rocky walls of the valley disappeared, revealing a pale yellow sky surrounded by mountains… and hundreds of feet above the ground. "Whoa!" Sasuke yelped, upon seeing how high up they were.

"Relax, kid, we won't fall," Issun said. Just then, the constellation became solid; whatever it was, it had white fur with red markings, just like Amaterasu. It jumped down, spinning like a mad top, and came to a rest in front of them, standing on one leg with the other cocked out behind it. It was a… Monkey?  
The monkey seemed to realize that they were there, then, and immediately became bashful, sitting on its knees and raising a yellow sword it had in front of its face. "Ah… Amaterasu," It said, causing Sasuke's eyes to widen. "Origin of all that is good and mother to us all…"

"Is that monkey talking?" Sasuke whispered.

"No," Issun said, rolling his eyes. "It's dancing. Shut up and listen."

"My gratitude for releasing my body from its slumber. Please accept my humble thanks in return for your great kindness. I am Sakigami, one of the triumvirate of flora gods known as the Hanagami. My brethren and I have been entrusted with the brush techniques known collectively as Greensprout. I now grant my humble power to you. Use it wisely." Sakigami began to glow, and then, he became a kanji symbol, which circled the threesome and flew into Amaterasu.

"One of the flora gods! Apparently, the Bloom technique can make flowers blossom simply by drawing a circle around them. Hey! Maybe you can revive the Guardian Saplings with it!"

"Undoubtedly. That's probably why Sakigami was waiting here." Sasuke reasoned. Amaterasu raised her tail, and obediently drew a circle around the tree.

Then, something unbelievable happened.

Cherry-blossoms sprouted of their own accord on the branches, and flew through the air. Suddenly, they slowed down, and pulled inward toward the tree, as though something was sucking them in. A second later, they exploded outward with a gust of wind and fresh air. Light and flowers spread out wildly across the valley, turning the black grass green and wiping out the black and red mist.

Trees and flowers sprouted in wake of the light, and the rivers and ponds that were once black became bright with color, healthy water now flowing through. Animals appeared in the new grass and behind the trees. It was, hands-down, the most amazing thing Sasuke had ever seen in his life.

"Whoa." He whispered, honestly awed.

"What'd I tell ya? Ammy here's a god!" Issun said smugly, tiny arms crossed. "_Only_ a god could be capable of a restoration of this size!" He turned back to the tree. "Looks like the power of the Sapling wiped away the Curse Zone. We should probably head back and take care of the one in Shinshu field."


	7. The Further Cleansing of Shinshu Field

The river in Shinshu had cleared up nicely, seemingly no longer affected by the curse zone. The Nameless Man, whose house was right near the entrance to Hana Valley, was standing in his yard with his axe slung over his shoulder, observing the river with obvious confusion. He saw them approaching, and turned to talk. "Freaky… It looks like the river suddenly cleared up," He said. "I did see Susano whizzing by here a little while ago…But surely it wasn't him who cleaned up the river, was it?" Sasuke snorted.

"He wishes," He muttered. The Nameless Man shook his head.

"Nah, you're right… That wouldn't make any sense." He sighed, then mumbled something to himself about pottery and walked over to where he was chopping wood. Issun chuckled.

"Exactly; few things Susano does makes any sense. Let's get to the Sapling- and don't get too close to those Demonic Scrolls. They look limp, but get too close and they'll fly into you." They carefully avoided the scrolls, which had seemed to flourish since they entered the valley, and made it to the Guardian Sapling. "Work your magic, Ammy!" Issun cheered. Amaterasu repeated her earlier action, and the same events unfolded, only more spectacular now, since they were in a more open space. Only this time, people that were once stone were able to move freely again. Now the field was beautiful, and many pathways were now visible.

"All right! Another one down! Ya gotta love that breeze coming off Lake Harami…" Sasuke looked around.

"What lake?" He asked.

"It's up and over there a ways." Issun said, gesturing to a sloping path that led steadily upwards. "We- Hey, look!" Sasuke and Amaterasu turned to see, what appeared to be, the top of a giant Sapling over the hills of the field. Before their eyes, green, healthy leaves sprouted on it, and it expanded as though taking in a deep, cleansing breath.

"That's Sakuya's tree. She must've perked up when you revived the Guardian Saplings. We'll stop by and see her a bit later."

"Good idea," Sasuke mumbled, plopping down on the ground. "I'm beat."

"Aw, c'mon! We're on a roll, here- we can't stop now!"  
"Easy for you to say," Sasuke grumbled, flopping back against the sapling. "You haven't been traveling for days with little to no sleep. Explore if you two want to, but I'm sleeping." Issun crossed his arms. 

"Fine, party pooper. All right Ammy, let's- Oh, not you too!" Amaterasu had yawned and lay down on her stomach, crossing her paws and resting her head on Sasuke's lap. "Ugh! Fine. Sleep. I'll just be sitting here painting. You'd better hope I don't run out of paper- 'cause I'm using your faces if I do!"

- 

For Sasuke, his sleep was plagued by a low-key nightmare. Not the type that made you wake up screaming, but the type that made your heart feel cold, and you only realize it wasn't real once you've thought for a while. It involved chains, his brother, blood, and several snakes. Odd, considering the dreams with snakes usually involved Orochimaru, not Itachi.

Sasuke awoke sharply. But after a moment, he could barely recall the contents of the dream that had made it so frightening. He sighed, and buried his head deeper into his pillow.  
Wait a minute- pillow?

His eyes fluttered open again, and he lifted his head a little to examine what he'd been sleeping on. Sometime during his sleep, he'd twisted about so that his head was on Amaterasu's back, buried into her soft fur, and one arm wrapped around her. She certainly didn't seem to mind; she was still sound asleep, after all.

Still reeling from the after effects of the dream, Sasuke couldn't help but tighten his grip on the wolf again. Amaterasu twitched, but did not shake him off. Her tail began to thump up and down, the action making Sasuke think; Amaterasu was- obviously, at this point- a goddess, in wolf form. But she acted like any other wolf might, only quite a bit braver and slightly smarter.

Nearby, he could hear a soft scratching noise; Issun drawing, undoubtedly. Occasionally, there was a slight mumble and a more furious scratching sound, then back to the normal pattern. Vaguely, Sasuke wondered what the drawings looked like; he had yet to see one of Issun's masterpieces. He would have to ask about them later…

"Great Grasshoppers, what in the hell is that?!"

Sasuke and Amaterasu jumped up, startled. "What? What is it?" Sasuke asked sharply, head whipping around in search of danger.

"That thing over there!" Issun was hopping up and down atop one of the massive branches of the Guardian Sapling. At first, Sasuke saw nothing. But when he focused and shook his head a little, he saw it:

It was a gate. Not a gate that just anyone could walk through, but more of an ornamental-looking one. However, this gate wasn't going to be used in any decorative scenes any time soon. It was a wicked-looking thing, with dozens of sharp, spiky edges. It was black, but eerie green flames danced about it, causing the patch of grass surrounding the gate to turn black.

It was across the river from the Nameless Man's house, on the bank against the cliff-side. They approached carefully, warily regarding the gate. "What is this thing?" Sasuke murmured, absent-mindedly reaching out to touch it. Amaterasu let out a sharp bark, then bit the back of his shirt and yanked him back, sending him tumbling.

"Geez, kid! Haven't you learned anything about not touching evil-looking objects wreathed in flame?" Issun snapped. "I think I know what this is: A Devil Gate. They're gateways to monster lairs. Pure evil that rubs out all life around it; We can't ignore this." He turned to face Sasuke. "Wait here, kid. We'll handle this." Sasuke cocked an eyebrow at the poncle.

"You don't have to," He said, swiftly extracting a kunai from his pouch. "That nap did me some good. I can fight." Issun was silent for a moment.

"All right then. Let's see what the ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village train their Genin to be! Forward march, kids!"

-

"You really do _suck_, kid."

"Oh, shut up."

Sasuke winced, rubbing the back of his head. He'd hit an unfortunate bit of bad luck: Apparently, the imps on the other side of the gate had either heard or sensed them approaching, and gotten the drop on them as they'd charged through the gate (Sasuke at a crouch, as the door was a tad too small for him to walk through).

Amaterasu had slid through fine.

Sasuke had been whacked on the back of the head and knocked out for about twenty minutes. He'd only managed to come to a moment before, with Amaterasu, Issun and the Nameless Man standing over him.

"That's a pretty big goose-egg you got on your head there, little man," The Nameless Man whistled. "But many thanks to you guys; My workshop is back!" Sasuke, still rubbing the tender spot on his head, looked around.

Much like when the Sapling was revived, the area where the Devil Gate had stood had come back to its original glory. It seemed that the evil of the gate had concealed the pottery workshop of the Nameless Man, and where the gate had been now stood two large log buildings, one of which had a fire blazing in it.

"Wow." The Nameless Man grinned.

"I know, right? Stop by anytime, dudes, and I'll give you something in return for your help."

"No problem." Sasuke stood, wobbling slightly. "That's what we do. Tell me, are there really four rabbits over there, or do I need to sit down again?"


	8. NipponBrand Training and Ammy's Story

The Nameless Man recommended that the three of them visit Onigiri-sensei, a combat teacher that lived on a hill on the other side of the field. "I follow the path of peace, brothers," He'd said. "But if fighting is what you're called to do, drop by his dojo. He'll teach you some sick moves!"

"You ever met this Onigiri guy, Issun? You seem to know your way around here pretty well," Sasuke asked as they hiked up the hill, pausing occasionally to allow Amaterasu to heal some parts of the field that remained poisoned.

"Nah. The name rings a bell, but I've never bothered to knock on everyone's doors and get to know them."

Onigiri-sensei's dojo yard had a rather home-y feel to it: pigs and chickens littered the yard, chewing the grass and drinking from the pond in the center. The wolf, poncle and the ninja passed over a small wooden bridge to reach the other side of the yard that had the dojo itself; training dummies leaned against the wall of the tiny building.

"You think this guy'll train a wolf?" Sasuke muttered. "He might think we're nuts if we ask."

"Maybe he'll train _you_ not to constantly get your butt whipped in a fight," Issun grumbled. Sasuke turned on him, teeth clenched.

"I'll have you know," He hissed, "That I was the top of my class when I graduated from the Academy. _Bug_. And that wasn't even a year ago. Not even six months of training and our Jonin instructor elected my teammates and I for the Chuunin exams!"

"Then your instructor was a real moron."

"SHUT UP!"

Sasuke was offended this time. Kakashi had been a goofball at times- Sasuke would even go so far as to call him occasionally irritating- but he had been an excellent teacher, and Sasuke had bonded with him a bit more than Naruto and Sakura had when he was being taught the Chidori technique. Kakashi was his mentor, and- though Sasuke would never admit it out loud- the closest thing he had to a parent.

"Don't ever talk about him like that, or I'll-"

"Geez! Touchy!" Issun backed off, though, sensing that he'd hit a nerve he had no need to hit.

Still steamed, however, Sasuke slid open the door of the dojo a little more roughly than he needed to. Amaterasu slid in next to him. The entryway had a very traditional feel to it: Bamboo grew in neat stalks against the walls. The foreground was a sand-covered floor which ended in a wooden deck. At the back of the deck stood a door, which was framed by two statues of monks.

And in front of the door stood a small man, hunched over with age, leaning on a cane. A caretaker, maybe; Perhaps Onigiri-sensei was out at the moment. As they approached the man, he turned around, revealing a pleasant face with a handlebar mustache and a gigantic chin. "Ho, ho! What do we have here?"

"Hey there, old timer," Issun said. "I'm Issun, the Magnificent Artist/Warrior; this here is Amaterasu, and that brat is Sasuke Uchiha."

"He's a bug. A really annoying bug." Sasuke grunted.

"Poncle!" Issun barked furiously. "I'm a Poncle, you annoying little-" He stopped short. Amaterasu had tilted her head back in an almost threatening motion, warning Issun to be quiet or be taken into her mouth again. "Eh… Whatever… Do you know where Onigiri-sensei is?"

The old man chuckled pleasantly. "You're looking at him, young Issun! This is my dojo, and I am its master." His tiny, wrinkled eyes narrowed. "Surely you three haven't come to study under me? A child, a wolf and a bug?"

("PONCLE, DAMMIT!")

"I have no time to play; This place is far too dangerous for you three!"

"Please!" Sasuke snapped. "I've been training under ninja doctrine since I was four years-old!" Onigiri-sensei grunted.

"Even one of the legendary Sannin could buckle under my training, boy!" The old man paused, a sly look flitting through his eyes. "Of course, if you can spot the fee for the training…"

"You slimy old-!" Amaterasu snapped sharply at Issun, and the Poncle let out a sharp, frustrated cry. "All right, all right! We'll pay for the lessons. How much are they?" Onigiri-sensei blinked.

"10,000 yen." Grumbling, Issun forked over the money from some unseen pocket he had (Sasuke didn't question it, merely assuming that it was a Poncle-thing). "Well, I'll be! I suppose I have no choice… I'll allow you to enroll in my dojo. Stand back, now!" Onigiri-sensei twirled his walking-stick. "AHHHH… OOOOHH!"

Suddenly, the little hunched-over man straightened right up, cane in the air, and- To Sasuke's eternal confusion- His _head_ seemed to spin on his neck, rolling upside-down so that his massive chin was now a massive forehead, and his handlebar mustache became a wicked brow. Sasuke, wide-eyed, looked to Amaterasu and Issun. Issun was not bouncing, and was completely silent, whereas Amaterasu looked every bit as stunned as Sasuke.

"WAAAAH! Are you mentally prepared to take the ultimate challenge?!" Onigiri-sensei howled. "Step inside to test your might, if you dare!"

-

An hour later…

"Oh, my aching head…"

Sasuke snickered at Issun's discomfort as they trudged up to the top of the hill that overlooked the field.

"Not so fun, is it?"

"Shut up, brat."

Sasuke smirked. Onigiri-sensei was a deceptively tough old guy- probably on a Jonin's level of prowess. After who-in-the-hell-knew-how-long he'd been running, a back-breaking training session had been precisely what he'd needed. For the first time in a long time, Sasuke truly felt _alive_.

It was evening now, the sky pink and the sun darkening to red, casting a blood-tinted shadow over the field. There hadn't been sunsets like this in Otogakure; But then, since most of the compound was underground without windows, Sasuke would never have known what the sky looked like.

"I don't know what you're complaining about. I had much rougher training sessions back in…" Sasuke trailed off, eyes widening as he saw the lake.

He'd seen some big lakes before, but this one was exceptionally large. The hill topped off there, running along the shoreline until it cut off into a jagged cliff on either side. To their left, a hilltop that was higher up above them; to their right, the path led to a dock that faced a cave- a cave with a deep body of water that ran through it.

The hill itself was a viciously steep drop down on the other side. Directly under them, a hole opened up to allow the river to empty into the lake. There were two paths on either side of the opening: The left was a rickety staircase that led down to a small hut, and the right was a simple dirt path that led down to a strange-looking house. And slightly beyond the house….

"What's with the gate?" Issun turned to look down. The gate was of dark wood, and it stood, massive, over the path that led past the house, into Lake Harami… And ended.

"That's the gate that covers the Moon Cave." Issun said.

"I don't see a cave."

"It's a magic gate, ye of little faith," Issun grunted. "It's _supposed_ to look like that. So no one would think to go out there and mess where they shouldn't!" Sasuke cocked an eyebrow.

"What shouldn't people be messing around with?" He inquired.

"Nosy little brat, eh? All right then; Pull up a seat and I'll tell you." Sasuke glanced around, then parked his hide on the nearest rock. Issun hopped off Amaterasu's head and landed in front of the rock, the white wolf dropping to her stomach next to Sasuke and yawning widely.

"A hundred years ago, there was this eight-headed snake that lived in the Moon Cave, named Orochi. Now-" Issun stopped. Sasuke, at the word 'Orochi', had made an odd choking noise and lost what little color he'd had in his face. "You okay?" Sasuke swallowed hard. He was shaking; _Orochi_… Lord, and he thought he'd escaped that snake…

Amaterasu nuzzled Sasuke's hand, whimpering softly. Sasuke jumped, but then snapped back to full awareness. "Yeah- Yeah, I'm fine. You were saying?" Issun hesitated, observing the still somewhat mortified expression on the boy's face.

"Eh… Well, in true form to your legendary monster, Orochi enjoyed an annual, ritualistic sacrifice from Kamiki Village. Young maidens seemed to be his preference. Anyway, for years, on the eve of the annual festival, Orochi would fire a white-plumed arrow into the house of the maiden he'd chosen. That maiden would march off to the cave and would, eventually, be devoured by Orochi.

"However, a hundred years ago- Nearly to the day- A mysterious white wolf appeared in the village. Because of the fur, everyone referred to the wolf as 'Shiranui'." Sasuke glanced down at Amaterasu, whom was wagging her tail pleasantly, tongue lolling out of her mouth. He said nothing as Issun continued.

"Because of the wolf's suspicious nature, everyone thought that it was a familiar of Orochi, and always made a point to try and avoid it. However, one villager, the warrior Nagi, often tried to fight and kill Shiranui." Here, Issun's expression soured (Once again, however, Sasuke could not see it). "Nagi," Issun growled. "Is the ancestor of Susano, the idiotic coward we saw in the valley."

Sasuke deadpanned. "You must be joking."

"I wish I were. Anyway- Nagi never succeeded in his attempts, as Shiranui was a bit too crafty for him. So, on the night of the festival, the tradition continued as usual- the arrow was fired, and it hit the house of Nami, the prettiest lady in the village. Nagi was in love with Nami, and was furious when he saw Orochi's choice.

"So, what'd he do? He went instead of Nami, intending to end Orochi's miserable life then and there. Unfortunately, as a testament to what happens when human men try to fight, gigantic, hulking, eight-headed demons, he got his butt handed to him on a silver platter. All seemed lost: Orochi wasn't hurt in the slightest, whereas Nagi had been put through the wringer.

"Until, from nowhere, Shiranui appeared! Shiranui leapt to Nagi's defense, and began to fight Orochi. Orochi spat fire and poison at Shiranui, but a powerful wind came and blew it away. Orochi snapped at Shiranui with his eight heads, and trees magically sprouted from the ground and blocked him."  
Issun was really in his element, excitement clearly discernable in his voice. He told the story as though he'd heard it time and time again. "As hard as Shiranui fought, Orochi was protected by some mysterious force, and soon Shiranui was bloodied and exhausted, just like Nagi.

"Orochi closed in for the final blow, but Shiranui threw its head back and howled to the sky. A moment later, the moon shone from behind the clouds. Nagi was rejuvenated as the light from the moon hit his sword, and he struck with a new vengeance, and sliced off all of Orochi's ugly, nauseating heads-"

"Easy, Issun!" Issun's words had gotten faster and faster, and he'd been without a fresh breath for nearly a full moment before Sasuke cut him off. "Breathe! You'll pass out, and I can't give CPR to someone as small as you!" Amaterasu's eyes were glittering happily, her tail wagging as wildly as ever, scraping through the dirt.

"Sorry!" Issun gasped. "But this story always gets me hyped. We Poncles are also known as Celestial Envoys- Because we can tell when we're looking at a God, we're entrusted with spreading the word about them. My gramps, Ishaku, has been telling me this story since I was born."

"Cool," Sasuke muttered. "So, Nagi killed Orochi?" Issun nodded.

"Dead and gone. When we go to Kamiki later, you'll probably hear people talking about him since the festival's so close and all." He paused. "But that's not the end of the story."

"What happened next?"

Issun was silent for a moment. "Shiranui wasn't able to avoid all of the poison Orochi breathed. Nagi carried the wolf back to the village, but there wasn't anything anyone could do. Shiranui died. The village honored the wolf, since it obviously wasn't one of Orochi's familiars, and built a statue of it at the base of Konohana, that giant tree we saw come back earlier."

Amaterasu's tail had stopped wagging abruptly, and Sasuke could have sworn that a somber look had entered her black eyes. "Issun…"

"Yeah?"

"Just a hunch, but… Was Shiranui…?" He glanced pointedly at Amaterasu. Issun nodded.

"So you figured it out. Yeah- Shiranui was actually dear ol' Ammy here." Sasuke reached over and rubbed Amaterasu head. She leaned into the touch gratefully. "Sakuya revived her through the statue they built of her down in Kamiki when all this crap started to hit the fan. When Ammy was resurrected, however, she could only remember her own brush power- The sunrise." Sasuke nodded.

"And now she needs to find them all again."

"Exactly. Now, that monkey said that he was part of a Triumvirate, so the other two couldn't have gone far. Let's get cracking!"


	9. Tama the Pyrotechnist

They went down the rickety staircase on their left (Sasuke clutching the railing for dear life the whole time), and the sun was just disappearing below the horizon when they reached the bottom.

The shack that stood before them had one long tube in the center of the roofing that looked suspiciously like a cannon. There was a sign near the door that read 'SUPER PYROTECHNIST TAMA'S HOUSE'.

"'Pyrotechnist?'" Sasuke read.

"A maker of fireworks and other things that can blow you up if you're not careful," Issun muttered. "Let's see if he has anything useful against imps."

The interior of the house was even smaller than the exterior, and the air reeked of gunpowder. There were a few barrels here and there, some candles, a couple of large spheres covered in bright paper in the corner, a giant basin in the exact middle of the room… And a large chalk sketch on the wall, depicting one large circle with many small circles inside it, and a dash through one of the sides.

_Let's hope he's not heavy-handed with these bombs of his,_ Sasuke thought. Some of the ninja back in Konoha had been a little paper-bomb crazy, and… Well. Let's just say it was a good thing that ninja were trained to deal with fire and explosions.

"No, no, no!" Behind the basin sat a man, mumbling to himself as he chewed on a pipe in his mouth thoughtfully. "I checked the formula a dozen times!"

"Oh, great. He's one of the ones who has conversations with themselves. Hey, buddy- You got a minute?" The man jumped in surprise. On his head rested half a sphere, similar in appearance to the ones in the corner… But this one's fuse was lit. Clearly it wasn't a bomb, but Sasuke couldn't imagine why someone would wear something like that on their head.

"Hm? Oh! A kid, a wolf and a little wisp- How'd you three get in here?"

"Wisp?! I'm no wisp! I'm Issun, the Wandering Artist!" The man laughed.

"You're a little ball of fire, aren't you? I'm Tama, the Flaming Pyrotechnist."

"Sasuke." The raven-haired boy desperately bit his lip, trying not to think sarcastic and mean thoughts about Tama's introduction as the 'Flaming Pyrotechnist'. "This is Amaterasu." Amaterasu barked, her tail starting up again.

"You three came just in time; I'm about to set off one humdinger of a doozy! Check out the formula on the wall." Sasuke and Amaterasu glanced at the drawing. "My entire career as a pyrotechnist has led to that formula! It's for a firework I've dubbed 'The Midnight Wonder Boy'."

"Great- Let's see it." Issun said. Tama's expression soured.

"There's a problem. You see, I know the formula is sound, but it's not working right yet."

_Then maybe, just maybe, it's not the right formula._ Sasuke growled inwardly. Tama looked at the trio for a moment, and then his eyes lit up.

"Hey, here's an idea!" He exclaimed. "You two have good eyes. Fiery eyes… Smoldering eyes…"

_If he doesn't get __**that**__ look out of __**his**__ eyes, I'm calling pedophilia and blasting a hole through his house!_ Sasuke thought, eyes narrowing (Orochimaru had once made a similar statement about his eyes, and Sasuke was, as we full-well know, very touchy about anything that reminded him of the snake-sannin).

"Your red-hot glares may be just what I need to set this off!"

"Or," Sasuke muttered. "I could just light it on fire using one of my techniques." Tama shook his head.

"I've tried real fire, friend- Doesn't work. All right, kids, hold onto your hats. Here I go!" Tama jumped to his feet and proceeded to perform the single strangest dance that Sasuke had ever seen (And that included a few from the ever-inventive Naruto). When he was done, he picked up a number of dark, lumpy objects and threw them into the basin. Then, whipping his pipe from his mouth, he spun it dramatically and tossed them embers into the basin.

Amaterasu, still staring intently at the basin, lifted her tail. Sasuke watched her as she carefully drew a circle in the air, just like the drawing on the wall depicted, and then completed it with a quick dash on the side.

There was a gigantic puff of smoke, and when it cleared, there stood yet another brightly decorated sphere, its fuse lit and slowly making its way to the bottom.

Lit. Fuse. Oh, wait-

Uh-oh.

"HIT THE DECK!" Issun shrieked.

BOOM.

The entire house shook as the sphere- a Cherry-Bomb- exploded in a wave of heat and sparks. Something shot up and flew through a hole in the ceiling, presumably leading out through the cannon jutting through the roof.

Amaterasu, Issun and Sasuke all darted outside. Above their heads, an amazing burst of fireworks was taking place: The first explosion revealed a boar. Next, a deer. Then, a butterfly. The Ino-Shika-Cho trio.

_Bet Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji would have loved to see this,_ Sasuke thought idly. Issun was laughing.

"Tama may have a few screws loose, but boy can he deliver!" Amaterasu loved the fireworks, even going so far as to wave her paws and jump at them excitedly. "Easy, Ammy! It'd be one thing if you had a saddle on your head, but you don't, so careful with that!"

Suddenly, a strange yet familiar light began to glow from above- And it wasn't from the fireworks. "What could be doing that at night?" Sasuke asked, shielding his eyes with one hand.

"It's another constellation!" Issun cheered. "All right! Finish it up, Ammy!" Amaterasu repeated her motions from before, twitching her tail twice-

The light became blinding as their surroundings disappeared. Once again, the trio appeared to be hundreds of feet above the mountain-tops. The constellations sprung to life… Revealing a boar balancing on a Cherry-Bomb. It sprang forward, trying desperately to keep its balance as a dozen tiny boars chased after it, each holding a torch in its mouth.

The boar finally managed to stop the Cherry-Bomb from rolling, and slowly rotated it so he could face the three before him.

"Ah… Amaterasu. Origin of all that is good and mother to us all… Too often, we find it is easy to forget what which we cannot see. Hidden away, I lost track of you. But now my soul is at ease. I, Bakugami, God of explosive force, lend my power to your cause. Use Cherry-Bomb to lay waste to enemies and obstacles alike!"

Without warning, the fuse on the Cherry-Bomb beneath Bakugami's feet ignited. He let out a squeal, furiously rolling away from them with his little boars following behind until-

BOOM.

Recall when Sakigami bestowed his power to Amaterasu by turning into a kanji symbol and flew into Amaterasu? Well, the same thing happened here: Only, the symbol didn't really _fly_ so much as it _bounced_.

The scene around them dissolved, and they found themselves back in front of Tama's house. "Wow. These Gods are really accident-prone, aren't they?" Sasuke muttered.

"Something like that. But hey," Issun whistled. "Bakugami… The Power of Explosive Force! Can't go wrong with that!"

"Being able to blow any monsters to Kingdom Come is always a plus," Sasuke agreed. It'll definitely save time." Issun nodded… But then gulped.

"Just, ah… Go easy on it, all right Ammy? Just don't start blowing up stuff willy-nilly and whatnot!"


	10. The Moon Cave

"'Agata Forest Port'," Sasuke read, squinting in the darkness. "Guess it won't be coming until the morning." They stood at the small cave where the water ran through, near the path that led to the Moon Cave. Nearby, a boar and her piglets walked about, sniffing and eating the grass.

"Nah," Issun said. "The ferry used to be pretty frequent, but it stopped running when the water level dropped."

"We could swim."

"Yeah, and we could also go scuba-diving in the nearest curse-zone lake." Issun snapped back with surprising savagery. Sasuke stared at him.

"What's wrong with you?"

"I don't like water! And neither does Ammy- Right Ammy?" Amaterasu made a whimpering noise and shook her head. Sasuke just scoffed at them.

"Oh, you wimps. It probably doesn't even go that _FAR!_"

Sasuke yelped his last word as, for no apparent reason, two of the boar piglets decided to ram into him and send him stumbling down the path to the Moon Shrine.

Now, Sasuke didn't fall over- At least then he could have found a way to stop himself. But he ended up gaining too much momentum, stumbling down the unnaturally steep path at break-neck speed, unable to stop himself. At the bottom of the path, however, he did in fact fall, tumbling and rolling with leftover momentum towards the lake.

When he finally came to a stop, Sasuke groaned. His head was spinning, and he could see tiny white and red monkeys dancing around his head. "Oh…" He sat up slowly, waiting to regain his senses.

"Sasuke! You all right, kid?" Amaterasu and Issun had bolted down the hill after him, Amaterasu having managed the run much more smoothly on four legs. She nuzzled Sasuke's shoulder worriedly as the boy rubbed his eyes. Slowly, he attempted to stand up.

He'd landed just past the gate blocking the Moon Cave. "Ah… Well… Yeah… I think-" But then, misinterpreting just how much of his sense of balance he'd regained, Sasuke stumbled further beyond the gate and crashed to the ground again. "Oh… Scratch that, I'm not as good as I…"

Sasuke froze, his eyes fixed on the sky. "…Thought."

It was dark, just as it had been before. But now…

Now, this clearly wasn't Shinshu field. He was sprawled on a thin, neatly-cut path that led through the water and to an island… An island with a large, dark cave on it. Above the cave (That could have easily passed as a mountain), a group of ominous black clouds swirled menacingly.

"The Moon Cave." Sasuke muttered.

"Got that right." He jumped. So focused on the Moon Cave, Sasuke hadn't realized that Amaterasu and Issun had pulled up right next to him. "You see now why they hide this thing? It's an ugly place." Issun paused. "But still… Something doesn't feel right here."

"Think we should check out the cave?"

"… Maybe. But only for a minute! If there's any place that's bound to be swarming with Imps, it's the Moon Cave."

They started off down the path. It was worn and dead, though this seemed to have come about from age rather than use. "You never came near this cave unless you were suicidal or evil. Orochi demanded a sacrifice every year, but that didn't stop him from the occasional human snack every now and then." Issun said.

"What did he eat in the meantime?"

"I have no idea. And frankly, I'm not sure I _want_ to know."

When they reached the island that the Moon Cave sat upon, Amaterasu started to act strangely. She flashed her teeth and twisted her head, making slight not-quite-growling noises in her throat. "What's wrong, Ammy?"

Amaterasu made another choked growling noise. "I think the cave is freaking her out," Issun muttered. "She did meet her death here, after all." Sasuke ruffled the fur on Amaterasu's back, but she didn't calm down.

The grounds in front of the cave's entrance were a nightmare: The grass and trees were dead, there were chunks of cracked and crumbling stone debris everywhere, and a strange, foreboding mist hung in the air, which distinctly reeked of decay. Over a hundred years, the Moon Cave had completely fallen to ruin.

The thin, long staircase that led up to the entrance of the cave was crumbling, and the stone was stained dark, as though a dozen inkwells had been dumped on it over the years and were left to dry and sink in. It looked utterly decrepit, but was actually quite strong, or at least it felt strong once they climbed it.

The entrance of the Moon Cave was enormous. Maybe about four or five times Sasuke's height, easily. But even more curious was the fact that, covering the entrance like a sheet of glass, was a watery-purple barrier that had small, white squiggles (that looked suspiciously like snakes) floating about it.

"The hell is this?" Issun cracked, miniscule fists on his hips. Amaterasu sidled forward, raising a paw towards the barrier, curiosity overriding her intense dislike for this place. Sasuke tensed.

"Amaterasu, maybe you shouldn't-"

Too late. Amaterasu placed her paw on the barrier, and then let out a loud, sharp, pained yelp and jumped back as though electrocuted.

Now Sasuke was tempted to touch the barrier too, wondering exactly what she'd felt, but knew better. Amaterasu was a wolf; there could be a marked difference in how this strange surface affected animals as opposed to humans.

"Yikes! You okay, Ammy?" Amaterasu shook her paw, half whimpering, half growling. It was an interesting sound, but Sasuke was certain he didn't want to hear her make it ever again. He knelt down and took her paw, carefully examining it for injuries. He half expected to see a burn of some sort, especially after the way she'd cried out, but saw nothing.

"Looks like it's just meant to scare people off." He muttered, releasing the wolf's paw. Amaterasu raised it to her mouth and licked it; she seemed to be glaring at the barrier over Sasuke's shoulder. "I can't think of any ways to get past it. Not without getting hurt, anyway."

"Eh, we're better off avoiding this God-forsaken place anyway," Issun grunted. "Besides, I think we've seen all we need to see in Shinshu. Let's go back to Kamiki in the morning and see the damage."


End file.
